Saturn Sky Red Line Washington DC

BY TONY QUIROGA

Enchanted by the looks of the Saturn Sky Red Line and Pontiac Solstice GXP but not comfortable with a manual transmission? Concerned that the $850 automatic will sap the joy from GM's diminutive roadster? The good news is that, despite the turn-off of an automatic-equipped sports car, the performance numbers of this Sky Red Line should be seriously eyeballed because in our hands it outaccelerates a mechanically identical Pontiac Solstice GXP equipped with a stick shift.

With an automatic, the Sky Red Line hustles its way to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds, a time that betters the manual Solstice GXP's 5.6 seconds. We would expect a Solstice GXP with an automatic to be the same as its twin, the Sky Red Line. You might be thinking this particular Saturn was quirky, that it somehow had an unusually strong engine. But this is unlikely, considering the Saturn hit the quarter-mile at the same speed — 98 mph — as the Pontiac. Quarter-mile trap speed provides excellent evidence of a car's horsepower claim; if our Sky had had an unusually powerful engine, it would have had a higher speed through the quarter.

Aside from being quicker, the automatic option makes accelerative tasks easy. Getting the manual version quickly to 60 requires a torturous high-rpm clutch drop followed by careful management of wheelspin and two very fast shifts. The automatic requires only brake torquing (left foot on the brake pedal, right foot on the throttle pedal) and the will to keep the accelerator pegged. The five-speed automatic — the same one in the Cadillac CTS — bangs off quick shifts, and the transmission's torque converter keeps the engine loaded, even between shifts. In a manual-shifting car, depressing the clutch between gears unloads the engine. Keeping a turbo engine loaded is advantageous because it keeps the turbo spinning, which in turn allows for faster power delivery.

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